COMMENTARY: Peeking into Piccadilly Grand’s success

By Elizabeth Choong

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

June 1, 2022 9:44 AM SGT

Model of Piccadilly Grand (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

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City-fringe living at its best

Piccadilly Grand is an integrated development at Farrer Park with 407 condominium units spread across three 23-storey towers; 14 retail shops (Piccadilly Galleria); and a 5,382-sq ft childcare centre. Located in District 8, the 99-year leasehold development is expected to receive temporary occupation permit (TOP) in 2026.

Residents in Piccadilly Grand will enjoy impeccable connectivity with direct access to Farrer Park MRT Station on the North-East Line. Farrer Park MRT Station is also one stop away from Little India MRT Station which is an interchange station with the Downtown Line. Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, which is an interchange station serving three MRT lines, is only two stops away. The Central Expressway is also a short drive away.

There are plenty of amenities within walking distance of Piccadilly Grand. City Square Mall is accessible via an underground link from Farrer Park MRT Station. Centrium Square is within walking distance while the massive Mustafa Centre is a short drive away.

Other amenities within a one-km radius include two primary schools (Farrer Park Primary School and Stamford Primary School), two wet markets (Pei Kio Market & Food Centre and Tekka Market), Connexion and KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital.

In addition, Piccadilly Grand’s developers, City Developments and MCL Land, are reputable, with established track records for delivering outstanding residential and integrated developments.

Selling like hot cakes

Piccadilly Grand has proven to be extremely popular, attracting a crowd of 5,400 during the preview weekend in April. Buyers also snapped up 77% of the units over the launch weekend in May at benchmark prices for the area.

Showflat of two-bedroom plus study unit (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Besides its excellent location and connectivity, Piccadilly Grand is the first launch of a major condominium development this year, which definitely encouraged interested buyers to visit the showflat. The only recent launch within a 500m radius is Uptown @ Farrer which is a 356-unit development that received TOP in 2021.

Analysis of transacted prices

At the time of writing, 320 units were sold at prices ranging from $1.058 million for a 484-sq ft, ground- floor one-bedroom unit, to $3.268 million for the sole transaction of a five-bedroom premium unit (1,679 sq ft).

Comparing unit prices, the cheapest is $1,871 psf for a 1,346 sq ft, top-floor three-bedroom flexi unit, while the most expensive is $2,477 psf for a 484 sq ft, one-bedroom unit on level 18. The overall average price for Piccadilly Grand is $2,183 psf, which is on a par with the average price for new sales of leasehold condominiums in Singapore ($2,076 psf) and in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) ($2,150 psf).

Small units are sold out

All one-bedroom and two-bedrooms units (with and without a study) are sold out. All three-bedroom units are also sold out, except seven units of three-bedroom flexi which have a room by the kitchen that can be converted into a study, helper’s room or storeroom. The city-fringe location of the development plus its affordable pricing proved attractive to investors and young couples.

Six 4-bedroom flexi units are sold, while four-bedroom dual-key and five-bedroom types have seven sold units each. Only one 5-bedroom premium unit is sold. It is surprising that so many larger units in Piccadilly Grand are still unsold because of the limited number of larger condominium units in the area.

Additionally, the larger units in Piccadilly Grand are selling for about $2,000 psf, which is a reasonable price-point for a city-fringe development, since units of similar sizes in leasehold condominiums are selling at similar prices of around $2,050 psf in the RCR and around $1,933 psf islandwide. Examples include Normanton Park along Normanton Park, Penrose along Sims Drive, Forett at Bukit Timah along Toh Tuck Road, and Atlassia along Joo Chiat Place.

The recent announcement that 1,600 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be built on Farrer Park Field could have swayed some buyers to wait and apply for the cheaper BTO flats when the flats are launched over the next three years. The empty field, bounded by Race Course Road and Hampshire Road, is located just beside Piccadilly Grand.

Unique offering of dual-key units

Piccadilly Grand has 41 four-bedroom dual-key units spread across stacks 8 and 15. The dual-key units comprise a studio apartment of about 300 sq ft and the main apartment of about 1,000 sq ft.

Such units are ideal for multi-generation families because the studio apartment can be used as a “granny” flat, while the family lives in the main apartment. Investors can also generate rental income from the studio apartment while living in the main apartment with their family, or even rent out both parts of the unit separately.

As a dual-key unit is sold as one property, investors can own a “second” property without having to pay additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for another property. The potential drawback is future difficulties in selling as such units may not appeal to all buyers.

At the time of writing, seven dual-key units have been sold. Five of them in stack 15 were sold at an average price of $2,024 psf, while the two units in stack 8 fetched $1,989 psf. This is despite dual-key units in stack 15 (1,378 sq ft) being smaller by 11 sq ft compared to those in stack 8 (1,389 sq ft) and more expensive by $35 psf.

Dual-key units from both stacks share a very similar floor plan. The main difference is stack 15 face the spa pool, while stack 8 face the lap pool which could be noisier.

Number of units per level matters

Stacks 6 and 7 comprise two-bedroom units with the same floor plan and size of 646 sq ft. However, stack 6 is in block 1 which has six units per level, while stack 7 is in block 3 which has seven units per level. Both stacks face either the family pool or the lap pool.

Based on URA data, 20 units in stack 6 were sold for an average of $2,217 psf while 20 units in stack 7 fetched $2,212 psf; indicating that buyers are willing to pay $5 psf more for fewer neighbours on the same level.

Blue trumps green

The facilities in Piccadilly Grand are found in levels 3 or 4 between the three towers, so all units have views of the different facilities.

We examine the transacted prices of stacks 3 and 10 to answer the question of whether buyers prefer views of the pool or greenery. Both stacks comprise two-bedroom with study units and have the same layout and size of 710 sq ft. However, stack 3 face the lap pool while stack 10 face a lawn.

Twenty units in stack 3 were transacted for $2,200 psf, while 20 units in stack 10 fetched $2,184 psf. The higher average price for stack 3 indicates that buyers are willing to pay about $16 psf more for views of tranquil blue pools over lush greenery.

Willing to put up with future construction for the right price

Currently, stacks 16 to 18 have unblocked views because of the empty Farrer Park Field. However, BTO flats are expected to be built on the field in the near future, which will block the view of the three stacks. Residents will also have to bear with future construction noise and dust.

However, this seems to have little impact on the sales of units in the three stacks. The two-bedroom units in stack 16 and the one-bedroom units in stack 17 are all sold out. Stack 18 comprise three-bedrooms flexi units and they proved to be the more popular than the three-bedrooms flexi units in stacks 4, 5 and 11. This could be because units in stack 18 are the cheapest at $2,084 psf.

Private lifts not priority in condominiums outside prime districts

The main difference in terms of layout for five-bedroom and five-bedroom premium units is the addition of a private lift for the premium units. Each unit type has 20 available units. The five-bedroom units proved more popular with seven sold units, while only one five-bedroom premium unit was sold.

The five-bedroom units were sold for an average of $3.165 million ($2,000 psf), while the only transaction for a five-bedroom premium unit was conducted at $3.268 million ($1,946 psf). The slow sales for five-bedrooms premium units seem to indicate that buyers of Piccadilly Grand are willing to compromise on privacy for a more affordable deal.

To sum up

Units at Piccadilly Grand have proven to be very popular with buyers especially the smaller units. This could be attributed to the development’s city-fringe location, superior connectivity, numerous nearby amenities and the stellar reputation of the developers.

At the time of writing, take-up rate is 78.6% at an average price of $2,183 psf.

Piccadilly Grand has dual-key units which could appeal to investors or multi-generation families.

An analysis of URA data indicates that buyers of Piccadilly Grand are willing to pay more for views of pools over greenery as well as fewer neighbours on the same level. Buyers are also willing to compromise on privacy and future construction noise for the right price.

Check out the latest listings near Piccadilly Grand, Uptown @ Farrer, Normanton Park, Penrose, Forett at Bukit Timah, Atlassia, Farrer Park MRT Station, Little India MRT Station, Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, Farrer Park Primary School, Stamford Primary School

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